The majority of the animals are kept within sizeable enclosures; others, such as peafowl, Patagonian maras, and red-necked wallabies, roam freely around the park.

The Zoological Society of London was founded in 1826 by Sir Stamford Raffles with the aim of promoting the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats.

The celebrity giant pandas Ming, Sung and Tang were among these animals but were soon returned to London to boost morale in the capital.

In May 2009, William Windsor (known as Billy), a goat mascot of the British Army's Royal Welsh regiment, retired to the zoo after eight years' distinguished service performing ceremonial duties.

A 2km walk where you have a different perspective of the passage through Asia on one side, and two new mixed-species enclosures on the other, housing langurs, macaques, babirusa, and anoa.

In December 2021 the remaining lions Neo, Kia and Max were euthanized after age related conditions were beginning to cause them pain and discomfort.

[16] In early 2022, the zoo temporarily housed 5 lions named Zero, Tor, Jabu, Mo and Kaya from Africa Alive!

Formerly the zoo's Dolphin Pool, Sea Lion Splash was a daily demonstration in which the zoo's three trained California sea lions (two females named Bailey and Lara, and a male named Dom) perform tricks and stunts in their pool (referred to as the 'Splash Zone').

A daily educational show in which keepers present various bird species demonstrating their natural abilities to an audience of visitors.

An area aimed primarily at children and housing domesticated livestock such as turkeys, llamas, alpacas, cows, silkie chickens, horses and miniature ponies, donkeys, guinea pigs, and goats, most of which are free roaming.

The Hullabazoo Farm is once also home to a female Bennett's wallaby named Pip, who was abandoned by her mother and hand-reared by keepers.

Other species in the zoo's collection that are not part of a themed exhibit include Amur tigers, blesbok, Asian small-clawed otters, red pandas, great white pelicans, gemsbok, sloth bears, meerkats, aardvarks, Cape porcupines, common ostriches, reticulated giraffes, southern white rhinoceroses, Przewalski's wild horses, chimpanzees, American flamingos, northern rockhopper penguins, Grévy's zebra, African wild dogs, bongo, hippopotamus, scimitar-horned oryx, waterbuck, African penguins, ring-tailed lemurs, and marabou storks .

The park and ZSL receive no government funding, and rely mainly on entrance fees, memberships, its 'Fellows' and 'Patrons' scheme and various corporate sponsorships.

The BBC's Merlin used parts of Whipsnade as a filming location for Season 1, and the famous lion landmark is featured in behind the scenes footage from the DVDs.

The zoo was criticized for euthanizing the bears, after they used a fallen tree to escape into an adjacent enclosure where they attacked a wild boar.

[25] The zoo's chief curator at the time, Malcolm Fitzpatrick, said in a message to staff, "We must quickly make decisions informed by our experience and expertise to protect our people, guests and our other animals", adding that tranquillizers were not an option as they would have taken 20 minutes to take effect.

[26][27] In September 2007, two former 'tea party' chimpanzees named Koko and Jonnie, moved from London Zoo to make way for The Gorilla Kingdom, escaped from their enclosure.

Jonnie was shot dead by the zoo's specially trained firearms squad for fears about public safety.

When asked why they did not use a tranquilliser instead, ZSL spokeswoman Alice Henchley said "It's just standard procedure, if the animal cannot be quickly and safely recaptured it will be shot.